Newburgh, NY - Behind a strong effort from all five starters, the Mount Saint Mary College women's basketball team defeated Albright College, 75-62, in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Tournament. The Blue Knights improved to 26-2 overall and will take on Tufts University in the second round, tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. in the Kaplan Center. Albright dropped to 20-7 overall and was eliminated from post-season competition.

Sophomore Shannon Sangster (Syracuse, N.Y.) led a balanced attack for Mount Saint Mary and finished with a team-high 16 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Senior Jackie Markert (Voorheesville, N.Y.) scored 15 points and completed a double-double with 12 rebounds. Senior Chantel Anthony (Middletown, N.Y.) tallied 7 points, 8 assists, and 9 rebounds.

Leading 34-31 at half time, Mount Saint Mary outscored Albright, 14-7, in the opening seven minutes of the second half to take a 48-38 lead. After a basket by Albright junior Charlotte Ciccone (Drexel Hill, Pa.), the Blue Knights scored the next seven points and took a commanding 55-40 lead with just under eight minutes to play. Senior Megan Kimmey (Troy, N.Y.) splashed a high-arcing three-pointer from the right wing during the run that put the exclamation point on the opening ten minutes of the half.

The Lions cut the lead back to ten on several occasions down the stretch, but never got back to within single digits. The Blue Knights continued to convert at the free throw line and eased to the 75-62 win. The win was the first for Mount Saint Mary in the NCAA tournament since the 2000-01 season.

Albright senior Jacqueline Hardwick (Dallas, Pa.) concluded her career in fine fashion, shooting 10-for-14 from the field to finish with a game-high 23 points. Freshman Jessica McGinness (Norristown, Pa.) was the only other Lion in double figures, totaling 13 points.

Mount Saint Mary dominated on the glass, out-rebounding the Lions 46-25. The Blue Knights pulled down 17 offensive rebounds that resulted in 16 second-chance points. Albright had just two second-chance points.

Senior Vanessa Lawson (Kingston, N.Y.) and junior Meredith Paggi (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.) joined Sangster and Markert in double figures, finishing with 12 and 11 points, respectively.